Dashing Through the Snow!
by OwlCookies XD
Summary: "Heh." Roy grinned deviously. "Those two boys aren't going to fall. Ed's to stubborn for that. But yeah, I know. In the end, I'll have to tell them the truth soon. Whoever killed their mother is coming after them next." The countdown to Christmas begins!
1. 10 Times a Charm?

**OwlCookies: after reading this one insanely good fanfiction, then browsing through some fanfictions, then seeing stuff about Christmas, I had a flashback to last Christmas when I was on fanfiction and I read this Christmas fanfiction. I got inspired. So heheheh!**

**And by the way, Al's human here. Yknow….**

**XXXX**

_10 Time's a Charm?_

If Alphonse hadn't told Edward, then the boy probably wouldn't have remembered it all to begin with. It was in his nature for that kind of stuff. To forget.

"It's almost Christmas, brother," cheerful little Al told Ed softly. A small grin was on his face while on the inside, Al felt the giddy excitement of the upcoming holiday.

Ed looked up from a bunch of documents his superior, Roy, had given him to read and make a report on. An eyebrow was raised as he put the papers down on his lap.

"Christmas?" he asked. "Wasn't that a few months ago?"

Al sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. Although Ed may be a genius, little things like the holidays can make even a smart kid like him seem so naïve. When he opened his eyes again, Ed was back to reading the papers. Al watched as Ed's golden eyes scanned through each sentence intently, absorbing all the information as if his life depended on it.

"It would make Winry really happy if you wished her a Merry Christmas," Al continued, stubbornly. He wanted Ed to at least _acknowledge_ that it was Christmas.

"Yeah, I'm sure it would," Ed murmured, waving Al off. The sigh in his voice told Al that Ed had lost interest in this conversation the first moment Al had even _mentioned_ Christmas.

Al huffed. His brother could be a real jerk sometimes! He pulled a chair from the kitchen table and settled it down in front of Ed. Then, he sat down, glaring at his older brother. Unlike every other day, Ed wasn't wearing his usual black clothing, complimented with his red cloak. Instead, he wore a day gray t-shirt and brown pants. His bare feet, one under his leg and one on the ground a few inches from the base of the chair, stayed awkwardly still. The automail one, on the floor, glimmered as the sun's evening rays shone on the metal.

Hopefully, Ed would look up after feeling Al's stare. But when he did, Ed just looked back down at his paper.

"Brother!" Al whined.

Annoyed, Ed looked back up. "What, Al? I'm trying to do something!"

"Christmas is in eleven days. Did you get Winry something?" Al asked, his eyes glittering hopefully.

"No. I didn't even know it was Christmas," Ed replied bluntly.

Al sighed. Hopeless, of course. He picked up the chair he was sitting on and placed it back where it originally was. Putting his hands in his coat pockets, Al went outside to take a walk.

Ed shrugged as he heard the front door shut. The window next to the door rattled by the force of it. He tossed the documents Roy had given him. The scattered in mid air. Ed looked at the calendar. It was December 15th. It in fact was, 10 days until Christmas.

Standing up to stretch his cramping arms, he looked at the scattered papers. The papers were filled with nonsense and complete stupidity. They weren't official documents from the military, they were a huge joke written down by the infamous, and yet famous, Roy Mustang. Four pages front and back of nothing but insults and annoying phrases. One whole page was full of synonyms of the word "short." Ed didn't know how he did it, but Roy somehow found multiple words, enough to fill up the whole page. He kicked them aside as he walked by.

"That bastard, wasting my time on pointless information," Ed grumbled. He reached into the pantry in the kitchen and pulled out some bread and condiments. Then, he made a sandwich with it. For some reason, the sandwich made him think back to what Al had bugged him about. Conscience maybe? "I don't get what's so special about Christmas. Some big fat man breaking into your house and leaving toys for all the 'good little boys and girls.'" Ed snorted. "Big deal. Flying reindeers carrying the fat man's sleigh. Oh yeah, I'll totally believe that."

Ed for one, wasn't much of the person to enjoy the holidays or his birthday. Valentines, the first day of summer, his birthday. All of those went to waste. To him, they were like any other die. Every day of the year was the same except for one. They day their mother had died. Ed clenched his fist at that thought.

"Mom…" His voiced echoed the remorse he had for that fatal event.

It was two years ago, Ed had been thirteen and Al had been twelve. In the middle of the night, Ed had heard a shrill scream. Because of that, Al had woken up in fright. Being the older brother, Ed reassured him that it would be alright. Quietly tip-toeing to the bedroom door, Ed's heart pounded. What _was_ that? Opening the door a crack, Ed peeked through. There, a few feet away from that very door was their mother. She lay in a bloody mess at an awkward and probably uncomfortable position. Ed gasped. Quickly, he shut the door so Al wouldn't have to see the horror.

That thought made him shudder up to that very day. He looked at his automail arm and clenched his fist. He had been an idiot that day, thinking that human transmutation would "fix her." But all it did was cost him his arm and when his brother was about to get captured by the rebound, it had cost him his leg.

Another door slam shattered his thoughts and made him jump a little. Al was back and somehow, Ed had finished his sandwich. Al looked down at the paper mess and looked back up with disapproval.

"Brother, you made a mess!" Al scolded.

"Sorry," Ed apologized.

_Christmas. _Maybe he _should_ consider it. At least for Al's sake.

The next day, Ed was called to office by the ever so smug, Roy Mustang. Edward, with Al behind him in tow, walked through the hallways of Eastern Command where at the time, Roy and his subordinates were stationed. The whole time Ed and Al walked through the halls, soldiers who happened to be in his way saluted.

"Good afternoon, Ed sir."

"Yeah. Ok. Good afternoon to you do." Uninterested, Ed continued to walk until he reached the door to Roy's office. He kicked the door down.

"Brother! Stop doing that!" Al scolded, behind him.

Ed ignored him, standing there near the fallen door, starring at Roy. His eyes were misty with confusion and resentment.

"What do you want, Mustang?"

Sighing, Al tried propping up with fallen brown door with the aid of one of Roy's loyal subordinate, Riza Hawkeye. Once it was in place, Riza left to get a hammer. When she returned, Al hammered the nails back in place. The door was now back in place. Well, for the time being anyway.

Al looked around. Unlike the door, everything else in the room was more orderly. White walls, hard wood ground with a large rug in the middle. On top of the rug was a couch and a coffee table. A window was across from it on the far wall. There, was all Roy's desk. It was scattered with multiple unsigned reports and a few coffee mugs.

"I'd like to speak with you, alone," he said. Roy's eyes, serious, looked at Al and Riza who, understanding his stare, walked out, careful to not damage the door any further.

After the door shut firmly behind Ed, and the somewhat synchronized footsteps of Al and Riza decreased, Roy began to explain, his hands covering his mouth.

"As you probably know, there have been some rather _disturbing _events occurring here in the East," Roy started. His eyes, never budging from the younger soldier, still stayed serious.

Ed dared to walk closer to the black haired man and sit on the couch, one of his legs on his thigh and an elbow resting on the arm rest while his hand was on his cheek. "Depends what you call 'disturbing.' Now what _I _call disturbing, that's a different story." Edward smirked, thinking that this was the perfect time to embarrass the fool. "I remember this one time… I recall you told me to go over to your place to talk about something. I don't think I saw something pretty. Hmm… let's see… what happened?" Ed tapped his chin, still smirking as Roy's face began to turn red. "Oh yeah, I remember. Hawkeye was there too-"

"Yes, I had a ton of fun, but I'm talking about bloody, death, and killing as disturbing," Roy spat, trying to stop Ed from reminding him of the event.

Now it was Ed's turn to blush. "You're a sick bastard, you know? A completely sick bastard."

Roy smirked. "Can't take the truth, Elric?"

Ed turned away defiantly. His fingers drummed against his cheek. "Yeah, yeah. What were you talking about? Bloody? Murder?"

Roy's eyes grew serious once more. "There have been multiple murders lately. Seeing that the crime scenes look similar to what you described to me when you told me about your mother…" he paused, seeing that he had hit a touchy subject. "I thought you might want to look into it."

"Why would I?" Ed asked, his head turned away to hide his dark expression.

His superior laid his hands on his desk and stood up. He turned around and looked out the window where the sun was slightly setting past noon. "After all those years, wouldn't you like to know who killed her?"

Ed stood up and held out his fist. "And why should you be concerned? As far as I know, I bet you're only telling me this so you can rise through the ranks. I'm not like one of your toadies, I'm-"

"Then why did you join the military?" Roy countered.

"I…" Ed couldn't answer. He didn't want to answer. He didn't want to admit it. "I wanted to find out who killed her…"

"And you're turning this opportunity down? Ed, I expected better from you."

Ed kicked the couch. "Damn it, Mustang!" He stormed away, partially because he embarrassed for showing how weak he felt about it all.

Riza walked in a few minutes after Ed stormed out. She pursed her lips, thinking of whether to speak or not. Narrowing her eyes until they were barely open, she asked, "Did you tell him?"

Roy sighed, shaking his head and sitting back down at his desk. His picked up his pen and began to slowly sign some papers. "Not all of it. I couldn't bring myself to do it."

"They'll find out soon. They're going to get hunted down now that you've brought them here. You need to tell them the truth." Riza's words were stern yet calm.

"Heh." Roy grinned deviously. "Those two boys aren't going to fall. Ed's to stubborn for that. But yeah, I know. In the end, I'll have to tell them the truth soon. Whoever killed their mother is coming after them next."


	2. 9's Not Even Close

**OwlCookies: 9 more days!**

**XXXX**

_9's Not Even Close_

The frying sizzled cueing Ed's return back into the kitchen to tend to the frying pan once more. His wrist jerked back and forth; up and down; left to right, until it was cooked. Ed turned the stove up and let the ingredients in the pan cool off for a little bit. Then, he returned back to the living room.

"Should you really leave our dinner unattended like that?" Al asked. "It might catch on fire."

"Al, stop worrying. I got it!" Ed assured.

Al could tell that Ed really didn't _"got it_," but he let it slide, shrugging.

Soon though, as Al had warned, smoke could be smelt throughout the room. Al glared at Ed while the older brother ran into the kitchen to put out the fire.

"What the hell?" Ed shout caught Al's attention.

He ran into the kitchen to not see the stove on fire, but the door opposite to the stove. The kitchen, even though it was smaller than most, did not have a reasonable explanation as to why the door would be on fire. Nothing flammable was within 5 feet of that door. 5 feet wasn't close enough to have anything catch on fire, well, unless it was purposely done.

"Wh-Why is the door on fire?" Al asked as Ed dumped a bucket of water from the sink onto the now receding fire.

Ed grunted after he dumped the last bucket of water onto the door, destroying the raging flame entirely. "I don't know. I swear I turned the stove off. But I bet you a certain soldier did this just for his enjoyment." He grumbled that last sentence.

Al hummed for a second. "No, I don't think he would do that. The lieutenant wouldn't let him."

"He could be some secret agent ninja or something!" Ed teased, posing in a bent position.

Al chuckled. "Nice try, brother, but I doubt _that_!" He stopped chuckled when he heard a large crash of the burnt door collapsing next to him. "Uhmm…" he mumbled, hesitating to move any single body part.

Behind the debris of the fallen door was the silhouette of a man. The sun's light from the kitchen window shined on the silhouette until the man was revealed. Ed's eyes grew wider and his pupils shrank. His heart skipped a beat.

"_Hoenheim_?" His surprised and angry glare didn't seem to stir the man standing at the door. Instead, Hoenheim raised his hand in greeting.

"Hey."

"Did _you_ do this?" Ed scowled.

Hoenheim's eyes glanced around until they settled to the door. He pointed at it.

"This? No, that wasn't me."

Ed relaxed a bit but remained tense. "Why are you here?"

"I heard around about a murder killing people around here. Since I heard you two boys lived here, I wanted to drop by and see if you were alright," Hoenheim replied casually, shrugging.

"Dad?" Al asked.

Hoenheim nodded in his direction. "Hey, Al."

This seemed to be an awkward time for all three of them…

"According to Mustang, the killer might be the same one who killed mom," Ed murmured. He had calmed himself down after a few minutes and was now sitting down on a chair, rocking back and forth. A thumb was wedged between his teeth as he chewed on it casually.

Al sat next to him on a different chair, looking at Hoenheim respectfully. "Do you know anything about the killer?"

Hoenheim looked down, a flash in the glasses revealed something if you couldn't tell by the look in his eyes. His eyes seemed to look droppy and tired. He shook his head.

"I've heard bits and rumors. Nothing really. What else did Colonel Mustang tell you?"

Ed almost scowled at him. That bastard of a father wasn't concerned about his wife at all? Yeah, she was dead, but he didn't seem to have a care about her at all! Things like this made Ed despise him more and more.

"No," Ed replied. "I didn't want to get further into what he was telling me. He was pissing me off." Ed looked away, snorting.

Al looked at Ed suspiciously but the suspicion went away when Ed gave him a glare.

x.x.x.x.

"Was that really what happened?" Al asked after Hoenheim left.

Ed shrugged, looking away as if he wanted to avoid the question. "Look, Al," he said, shoving his hands in his pockets, "It's probably just another false lead."

He knew he was lying. Deep down, Ed knew that he was lying. He was afraid. He was afraid to finally see the one who killed his mother.

The phone rang, jolting Ed away from his gloomy thoughts. Without another word to Al, he went over to pick it up.

"Hello?"

"_Oh _hello _Vic!" _There was a high pitched chuckle on the other end.

"Uhm… Do I know you?"

"_Of course you do, Vic dear. Remember me? You met me after you talk to Travis the other day."_

"No… I still don't."

"…_Vic…"_

A lightbulb blinked on. "Oh wait, yeah, I remember you. Hey, what's up?" Ed tried to not grit his teeth. This was _so _embarrassing. But then again, for the one on the other end, it must have been worse. "How's your voice? You seem a bit _low_ today?" He smirked, trying to embarrass him.

"_Oh yeah, I'm a bit under the weather today. But can you please meet me here in let's say… hmm… about right now?"_ The person at the other end had a grudging tone but managed to keep up the act.

"Yeah, sure." Ed smirked.

"Who was that?" Al asked once Ed hung up.

Ed' smirk grew wider. "Mrs. Roy Mustang."

Al raised an eyebrow but kept quiet.

x.x.x.x.

"What's with the act, Mustang?" Ed asked, growling as he stormed into Roy's office for the second time that week.

Roy rolled his eyes. "If anyone tapped into that line, and I mean _anyone_, you're life and probably mine would be in danger." Humor glinted in his eye. "It'd be tragic if _I_ died. I wouldn't be able to become Fuhrer. Not only that, my poor lieutenant would be so devastated-"

"Sir." Riza's warning was enough to shut him up. But he smirked when she blushed.

"What do you mean?" Ed asked.

"It's 9 more days until Christmas," Roy said, motioning to the calendar that was placed on the table in front of Ed.

Ed eyed it. It was December 16th.

"On the strike of midnight, right on December 25th, the murderer plans to kill both you and Al."

"_What?_" Ed's eyes shot to Al who looked back worriedly.

"According to the reports," Roy explained, tossing Ed a folder labeled _Killer Case_, "The killer has been killing one victim each since the beginning of December. After each murder, the killer writes a message in the victim's blood. Every time, he writes that he's going to kill you two at the stroke of midnight on Christmas."

Ed went through the documents, reading the little information is even had. "Why?"

Roy shrugged. "There was no explanation. But like I said before, he might be the one who killed your mother. So, until the killer is caught and imprisoned, I got two officers to watch your back."

"WHAT?" Ed jumped up with a fist raised. "We don't need a babysitter!"

"Are you sure about that?" Roy asked, smirking. "People might mistake you for a five year old."

And even outside the building, Ed's scream of rage was heard and the blast's tremble was felt.

"Settle down, Elric, I was only joking." Roy's face returned serious again.

Ed pouted and looked away.

"2nd Lieutenant Ross and Sergeant Brosh will be your bodyguards until the killer is caught."

As if on cue, a young blond male with bangs like Ed entered with an also young female with black hair and a mole under her eye entered. They saluted.

"Good evening sirs!" the greeted.

"Ah, and here they are." Mustang grinned. "2nd Lieutenant Ross, Sergeant Brosh, meet Edward and Alphonse Elric."

"This little kid is part of the military?" Ross asked.

Ed hissed. "Who are you calling little?" he asked menacingly.

Ross shrank back, arms in front of her. "S-Sorry sir!"

**XXXX**

**OwlCookies: sorry this was posted a little late. I was kinda occupied at school today…**


	3. 8's Symmetry Powers Made Snow

**OwlCookies: I thot I was clear with this to begin with… but I guess I was assuming to much… but 1 chapter will be posted each day until Christmas which would be the last chapter. Yknow… kinda like a countdown fic?**

**XXXX**

_8's Symmetry Powers Made Snow_

Snow began to fall upon East City that day. At first, it was just a light snow. But as the day grew on, the snow turned into a blizzarding storm. This fact was not a very happy one for Roy Mustang.

"I-It's cold," he murmured, shivering.

Roy was in his officer, a slightly warm cup of coffee in his hand. It was about to spill due to his excessive shivering, but Riza's constant glare made him keep his hand steady.

"Wh… What the hell happened with the heater?" he asked, despair in his voice.

Riza sighed. "You wouldn't be so cold if you didn't think about it."

Roy ignored her. "You know what? Screw this! I need to burn something!" He looked down menacingly at his unfinished paperwork.

Procrastination was what kept him from doing the damned work. Roy would find _any_ excuse to escape from the dread known as "work." But instead of procrastinating, why not just burn it all and rid of it? He slipped on his gloves _so_ tempted to burn it.

"Sir…" Riza warned. "If you burn your paper work, the higher-ups _will_ find a proper punishment."

Jean Havoc, smoking his cigarette in the corner of the room, chuckled. "She's right, chief. Wouldn't be great if it were _you_ who had to call _us_ chief?"

"Don't push it, Havoc," Roy growled.

Jean laughed, inhaled, and then puffed out a cloud of smoke.

"You know, one of these days, you're going to get lung cancer with those cancer sticks," Roy grumbled.

"They're not cancer sticks, boss!" Havoc protested.

"You wanna bet?" Roy threatened.

Riza stood between them. "Stop it," she threatened scarily. "Get back to work." She narrowed her eyes and fluttered them lightly as she cocked her gun.

"Y-Yes!" they exclaimed in unison, furiously signed papers.

If you could read Riza's thoughts, she would be mentally rolling her eyes and sighing. But you can't. So too bad.

Riza opened her eyes and regained her stoic face.

x.x.x.x.

As he sipped hot chocolate, Al began humming to himself. Even though it was blizzarding outside, Ed had made a lovely fire that kept the whole house warm. To Al, the weather outside seemed very pretty.

"Dashing through the snow…" he sang. "On a pair of broken skiis…" Al remembered when he was younger. Ed had alternated the original song. That had brought many laughs from the kids but many mean looks from the adults. "O'er the hills we go, crashing into trees! The snow is turning red, I think I may be dead, I woke up in the hospital with stitches in my head. OH! Jingle bells, jingle bells! Jingle all the _way_~" He grinned to himself.

Outside, there seemed to be an echo of his song. Al's ears perked up and looked out the window. There was a quick movement. Shocked, Al got closer to the window and pressed his face against the cold glass.

"_A ring, a ring o' roses… A pocket full o'posies… Atishoo… Atishoo… We all fall down… _Dead."

The slow and eerie sounding song seemed to now be coming from inside the house.

"B-Brother?" Al asked shakily. "Are you trying to scare me?" There was no answer. "Brother? It's not funny, brother! Stop it!"

"_Hush, little Alphonse, don't say a word… killer's gonna kill a mockingbird… If that mockingbird don't die… killer's gonna kill your _lullaby."

"I'm serious, brother. It's not funny!" Al shouted into the darkness of the next room where the voice was coming from. There was no answer. "B-Brother?"

There was a rustling movement in the dark room. A mixed humming of the three songs the voice had sung was heard. Al saw something silver glisten in the dark room.

"_Al_! Watch out!" a voice cried.

Someone dressed in blue stood in front of Al as the silver blade pierced the skin. There was a scream of triumph from the murderer. Suddenly, the knife dropped. Nothing other sound was made except for Al's thumping heart.

"S-Sergeant Brosh?" Al exclaimed, bending down to see if the soldier was alright.

He examined the soldier. Sergeat Brosh wasn't in critical condition, but his shoulder was bleeding. If he didn't receive medical attention, he might die. Having basic medical knowledge, Al went into the kitchen and got a cloth. He then applied pressure onto the wound.

"Sergeant, where's Ed and 2nd Lieutenant Ross?" Al asked quietly.

Brosh winced. "I was wondering the same."

Al looked at the calendar. December 17. 8 more days until Christmas. How many more people are going to get killed until then?

**XXXX**

**OwlCookies: this chapter was hard to write :'(**


	4. 7 Plain Old 7

**OwlCookies: gomen nasai! *bows unnecessarily* gomen nasai! **

**Im sowwy I didn't update yesterday! I was rly sick so I ended up sleeping almost the whole day (only, exceptions with chatting with partner in crime XD sry guys… hehe ^.^" shes more important than fanfiction updating) so…. To the best of my talents, ill try to update both chapters today**

**XXXX**

****_7. Plain Old 7.  
><em>

Early rays of sunlight bathed Al in a chilly sort of warmth. The fun from the fireplace had burned out and the blizzard and stopped. Now, the scene outside was full of snow, frost, and ice. Next to Al lay the injured Sergeant Brosh, his breathing was normal so Al took it that he was fine. He then realized what had happened the previous night. He and the sergeant were still in the same place as they were last night. Al nudged him awake.

"Are you ok?" he asked, his eyes wandering to the calendar. It was December 18.

Brosh grunted and sat up abruptly. He winced and clutched his shoulder. "I'm fine. What about you?"

Al nodded. "You need to see a doctor," he said, standing up.

The sergeant stood up as well. "But I can't abandon my duty. I have to protect you."

If Al were Ed, he would have said that the sergeant wasn't doing a very good job of it.

Together, Al and Sergeant Brosh walked to the hospital. Once Brosh was admitted in, Al wanted to East Headquarters. There, he walked sternly into Roy's office.

"Colonel! Ed and 2nd Lieutenant Ross have disappeared!" Al exclaimed.

Roy looked up at Al, his bored face turned into complete shock. "Where's Brosh?" he asked immediately.

"The killer cut his shoulder so I took him to the hospital," Al replied.

Roy slammed his fist on his desk earning a glance from Riza. "That bastard," he growled. (teeheehee this chapter is so lame xD) "Are _you_ ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. But, where do you think brother disappeared to?" Al asked nervously.

"I don't know. I don't want any more blood on my hands so I'll do the best I can to find him."

Al raised an eyebrow. Maybe he didn't mean to put it that way. But did he mean that he didn't really care about Ed? Jerk. (trololol outta character for Al)

As Al walked back home, he accidentally bumped into someone. Surprised, he jumped back suddenly.

"Sorry!" he apologized.

The man, strangely wearing a thick trench coat tipped his hat in Al's direction. "Tis ok, kid. Say, is this the place where all the murders have been happening?"

Al nodded. Hmm… this voice sounded familiar

"I'd be careful if I were you. You wouldn't know if you were the next one to get killed next."

"Same to you, mister."

"By the way, I'm John. Nice to meet you."

Al nodded again and walked off. He seriously could have sworn that his voice sounded familiar. But, she shrugged it off and continued walking.

**XXXX**

**OwlCookies: im sorry this chapter was short… but this chapter was also stupid sooo…**


	5. 6, The Devil

**OwlCookies: maybe this chapter is a bit better?**

**I realized tht these past few chapters weren't getting anywhere :] but thts cuz theres a whole lotta chapters left. I felt like I shud spread out somethings… tht and cuz I don't kno wer this story is going so heheh yeah**

**XXXX**

_6, The Devil._

December 19. 6 more days. Ed and 2nd Lieutenant Ross were still missing. Sergeant Brosh was in the hospital and doing well. Al was alone. Well, at least he had the day's newspaper to entertain him. He brewed up a cup of coffee. On normal days, he wouldn't usually do this, but today after all the stress and fright, he felt like he needed one _really_ bad. Al took a sip and began reading the headline. He almost spat it out.

_Tourist John Wills Murdered by the Mysterious Killer_

The picture underneath the headline was a bloodied version of the man Al had just recently spoken to yesterday! He read through the article, his heart racing.

_This morning at 4 AM, John Wills was murdered. Just like every other victim, the killer left a note. Although it was messy, seeing that the victim struggled before the killer finished writing, 2__nd__ Lieutenant Breda transcribed it to: "Every little lacky within even a hair-length of your words, will be killed before you wake, little Alphonse."_

The hairs on the back of Al's neck stood up. Was the murderer watching Al at this very moment? Did he have Ed and 2nd Lieutenant Ross? He was shivering now. Al couldn't take this anymore. This was insanity. He didn't think he had enough strength to keep going. Trembling violently now, his eyes rolled to the back of his head.

"Brother…" were his last murmured words.

x.x.x.x.

"Alphonse! Al! Where are you?" Roy shouted, going through the Elric's house.

With his subordinates, they had searched every inch of the Elric house. After hours of pointless searching, they moved on to the rest of the city. That too, was also proven pointless, for they couldn't find even the slightest hint of where the two Elric brothers were.

"Damn," Roy grumbled. "Where the hell could they possibly have gone? The only lead is that Al was reading the newspaper, drinking coffee, and now the coffee's been spilled all over the ground."

"We could be missing something, boss," Breda suggested. "Maybe the killer left some clues that only alchemists can read and you didn't realize it and…"

"I thought you were the most logicalist out of all of us!" Fuery chirped.

Roy paused. "No, I think he's on to something." He pulled out the newspaper that Al had dropped. Some coffee stains were on it, but it was readable.

"Oohh, the colonel's gonna decode some magical message!" Fuery exclaimed excitedly.

"You can always trust the boss to do something as magical as that!" Falman commented, clapping his hands in applause.

"Damn straight!" Havoc and Breda exclaimed.

Roy glared at them. When the four men got the message, he went back to reading the newspaper, a pen was in his mouth as he concentrated. He crossed out some letters on the newspaper, and then his lips pressed together into a thin frown. Roy tossed the two items onto the ground.

"This is pointless! Why would a reporter hide something in the newspaper?" Roy shouted.

Sighing, Riza slightly patted his back. "At least you tried, sir."

Roy sighed in defeat. "Even the smallest clues we can get, it just leads us back in a circle. That bastard knows how to play around with our minds."

"Who's going next, I wonder?" Falman asked.

"Alphonse isn't in contact with anyone else besides us. And I guess, he knew that John Wills man," Roy replied. "Brace yourselves men. Prepare for the worst."

His subordinates saluted. "Yes sir!"

"So, boss, what happens next?" Havoc asked. "Are we going to keep searching because you know…" he nudged Roy. "I kinda have a date I need to get to…"

"Dump her," Roy said immediately. "She's my date today." He smirked.

Havoc slumped to the ground darkly, clinging onto Roy's pants. "Chief, you're so heartless…"

Riza cast Roy a slightly confused glance. Luckily, no one noticed. Roy smirked in return. (Royai keeps me going B3)

"Havoc, you're hopeless with women, give up already," Roy sighed. Havoc sulked even more.

"Heartless…" Havoc continued mumbling. "…Heartless…"

6 more days, Roy thought. How many more lives were going to be taken in those days?

**XXXX**

**OwlCookies: yay. Short again. To bad ;-; I don't wanna make it longer… im running out of story ideas… im dooooomed**


	6. 5 Times More

**OwlCookies: nyeheheh my somewhat sadistic mind comes into place is this chapter *evil grin (since I can't do the great than sign =.=")***

**I enjoy bringing despair to havoc life. Mwahaha..!**

**I decided that im just gunna make these chapters really short. Just for the sake of my precious vacation time B3**

**XXXX**

_5 Times More_

Many murders took place that day. Each one, a loud scream was heard. Each one, ended with a bloody mess and barely a trace left of the victim. Each other, the victim's blood was used to write the names of soldiers and others. Each one left Roy and his crew in a confusion and fear of who was going to be killed next and where.

"Can you tell who this one is?" Roy asked Breda.

"It's hard to tell. The killer's really messing up these people's bodies. It's messed up. I feel bad for these guys," Breda replied, sighing.

"It says Von Hoenheim this time," Riza said, eying the wall. "Isn't that Edward and Alphonse's father?" she looked down.

"Naw, the victim can't be him. Even in this mess I can tell. I've seen pictures of the dad. This ain't him," Havoc said.

Riza narrowed her eyes at him.

Havoc shrugged and grinned cheekily. "You can't judge a man by snooping."

"Yeah you can," Fuery retorted. "It's why you're infamous with the ladies."

"Look who's talking Fuery! At least I _get_ girls!" Havoc shouted, sulking again.

Fuery smugly patted his head. "Then explain my date yesterday."

"You cruel-hearted people…" Havoc whined. He whining stopped as a shrill scream was heard. It was loud so the killer was near.

They ran across the block and to the next street. Out of the corner of Roy's eye, there was a glinted shadow and a flash of blond hair. He narrowed his eyes and began running after the blond.

"Get back here!" he shouted.

Roy snapped his fingers and a big firey explosion… exploded in front of him. When the dust and debris cleared away, any trace left of the blond was gone.

"Damn it all!"

Riza raised her eyebrows at him and then narrowed her eyes as she thought about the blond person who ran by, the scream, and the writing in blood. She rolled her eyes at him now. Men, what would they do without their women?(im sorry… but that sentence is REALLY funny)

"What's the death toll so far?" Riza asked.

"Four," Havoc replied.

"And how many people have disappeared since the beginning of this all?"

"Hmm… Well, Sergeant Brosh disappeared from the hospital this morning. Counting him there's Ed… Al… Ross… Brosh… That's another four people."

Riza narrowed her eyes with suspicion. That's what I thought, she thought to herself.

"So, does that mean all the people who disappeared… are these bloody messes… _them_?" Fuery asked in shock.

Roy's pupils shrank. "N-No way. Damn it! The murderer said he wouldn't kill Ed and Al until Christmas!"

"They can always lie… Can't they?" Fuery whimpered.

Riza watched the scene in front of her. The information, little as they were, was now putting themselves together like pieces from a puzzle. What they were facing…

"Hawkeye!" Roy called to her. "You coming?"

Riza blinked surprised. She saw that they were leaving. Nodding, she quickly walked next to Roy.

"What's on your mind?" he asked her quietly.

"It's nothing, sir," she replied, cautiously picking out her words.

Roy looked down at her worriedly. A few inches taller than her, he felt responsible for her. Though, of course, Riza could obviously take care of herself. She had proved herself capable through and through.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive, sir."

He sighed and gave up. Judging by her looks, he had a feeling that she knew something that she wasn't telling him. Something _very_ crucial to this case.

x.x.x.x.

Roy, like every other night, walked Riza home. It was a quiet time and they both enjoyed it. Yes, even Riza, who grudgingly probably would not admit it.

"Goodnight, Hawkeye," Roy said, nodding.

Riza nodded back. "Goodnight, sir."

"Oh, and by the way…" His vision focused on her as he gave her a serious look. "I'm on to you."

She gave him a quizzical look. "What do you mean?"

"From earlier. You know what I mean."

Riza studied him from a moment then sighed. "Sir, this is usual childs play. I do hope you'll understand."

Without another word, she shut the door.

December 20. 5 days left.

**XXXX**

**OwlCookies: NYEHEHEH WITH MY EVIL MIND, I THOT OF THE BESTEST PLOT EVER! MWAHAHAHA! U just wait until the last chapter. ITS GUNNA EPIC. To me at least :P I cant wait to type it up! Mwhwhahahah! **


	7. 4 Winter Time

**OwlCookies: happy winter solstice and the beginning of winter! How do I know this…? A. I did NOT look at the calendar.. and the answer is… B. WE LEARNED IT IN SCIENCE! XD trololololol I also learned about wan-hoo (WAHOO LOL) and laika… poor poor laika….**

**XXXX**

_4 Winter Time_

So far, the day was clear. A few chilly breezes here and there. But unlike the past 5 or so days, the air was free of its tense and nerving aura. Roy, for one, took advantage of this seemingly fine day.

"It seems to be the first day of winter, Lieutenant," Roy said, grinning at Riza. "Today seems like a fine day to have some fun. Don't you think?"

"Which is why I'm going over to the shooting range. If you men do anything stupid, I… Well, you men know the consequences." Riza had an evil smile.

"C-C'mon! That's not fair! Can't we have a _little_ fun?" Roy whined.

Riza rolled her eyes. "You're mature men over the age of 16. You're _not_ children."

Roy whined and leaned against her, putting his arms around her waist. He face was on her neck. Smirking, Roy breathed heavily on it. "Please?"

"No, sir. Now please get off me."

The door opened. A stunned Breda stood there, coffee and papers in hand. He whistled and then chuckled.

"Did I come at the wrong time?"

"I was just about to leave." Riza ended the conversation there, removing Roy's arms around from her and walking out casually as if nothing happened. She sighed when Roy and Breda were out of earshot.

"Geez chief," Breda whistled. "Even _you_ don't have enough charms for _her_."

Roy smirked. "Oh really?"

"I bet you couldn't even go on a date with her," Breda challenged.

"Are you willing to bet a whole month of my paperwork?" Roy threatened with a mischievous smile.

Breda raised his fist in the air. "Damn straight I do!"

"Then you're on. If I can't get a date with the lieutenant by…"

"The end of today!" Breda exclaimed.

"By the end of today, you're doing my paperwork for this month."

"If _you_ don't, then you get to live in depression." Breda began laughing evilly.

"Don't underestimate my charms, Breda," Roy snorted, smirking.

"Yeah Breda," Havoc said. "Don't underestimate his charms…" He had a depressed look on his face making Roy smirk.

For the rest of the day, Roy did what he was supposed to do without procrastination. He looked serious, but on the inside, he was smirking _very_ smugly. Every so often, he would show that smirk to Breda behind Riza's back. When he finished his paperwork, it was the end of the day and pretty much everyone was gone except for Riza who stayed behind idly. This was the same scene as every day. Chuckling to himself, he quickly made a plan in his mind.

"Are you done with your paperwork, sir?" Riza asked, hearing his laughter.

Roy nodded in her direction, grinning. "I want to show you something."

"Hm? What is it?"

He wagged his finger and her, his grin growing. "You'll just have to find out." Roy grabbed her hand, and pulled her away from the office as if he were a little kid excitedly bringing his mother around through the toy store.

"Sir...?"

They were outside now. Roy was still walking with Riza at tow.

"Really sir, where are we going?" she asked.

"You wanna hang out tonight?" he asked, his hopeful eyes glittering.

Riza shook her head. "Sorry sir, but we can walk Black Hayate together if you want."

Roy sighed. "I guess it's fine." He was already losing the bet. Great.

x.x.x.x.

"What did you _really_ want to do today?" Riza asked when they arrived back her apartment from a long walk with Black Hayate.

Roy blushed and looked away a little. "Breda and I had a bet."

Riza's face told nothing as she continued to look at him.

"If he lost, he would do my paperwork for a month and if I lost, I would live in depression." He looked back to see that Riza's blank face had broken into a small smile.

"If my suspicions are correct, you had a bet to see if I would go on a date with you. Is that correct?" she asked, still smiling.

"Yeah…" Roy admitted, murmuring quietly.

Riza gently put her hand on his cheek. "Then it's a good thing I didn't accept that invitation."

Roy placed his hand on hers. He smirked. "Hmm? And why's that?"

"Because I wouldn't have done this."

She pulled his head closer to hers and kissed him on the lips. The kiss, not very long, was passionate. Roy felt satisfied with just that. When Riza broke away, a smirk was on her lips.

"Oh, I'm sure you would have anyway," Roy chuckled. "I would have found a way to make that happen."

Riza raised an eyebrow. "I don't think so, Roy Mustang. I sincerely doubt that you have enough charm," she teased with a playful laugh.

"You dare underestimate my charm?" Roy grinned.

December 21. The first day of winter. The first day of quiet and peace for the month. 4 more days until Christmas. And Winry Rockbell, knew nothing of the happens. Not yet, at least.

**XXXX**

**OwlCookies: a filler chapter with royai. CUZ ROYAI IS AWESOMESAUCE, EPIC TOAST, COOL BEANS, AND WICKEN CHICKEN XD**

**Oh yeah, and mwahahaha foreshadow for winry! I don't rly like winry but cuz she comes in a pack wen it comes to ed and al's problems, I have to put here ._." as much as I don't want to**


	8. 3 Gave the Punishment

**OwlCookies: mew :3**

**XXXX**

_3 Gave the Punishment_

"Pay up chief, you and Hawkeye never went on a real date." Breda pointed to Havoc's usual depression corner, smirking.

Roy smirked back in response. "I'll have you know that in fact, we _did_ have a date."

Havoc whistled. "Someone's a liar."

"Shut up, Havoc, go sulk in your corner, I'm dating Melissa today."

Immediately, Havoc went to his depression corner, sulking and drawing dark lines on the wall. "I thought she was just playing hard to get…." he whined in depression.

"Then we'll ask Hawkeye herself," Breda challenged.

"She'd never admit it on her life," Roy retorted.

And as if on cue, Hawkeye walked into the room.

"Lieutenant! Did you and Mustang go on a date?" Breda asked her before Roy could do anything to intercept.

Riza stopped walking. She looked at Breda and put her finger to her lip in thought. "I wouldn't really call it a date." Breda raised his eyebrows smugly as Roy looked away and blushed. "But we did kiss each other…" She trailed off. Roy's eyes glimmered as Breda fell down looking defeated. The other men in the office began giggling and whispering amongst each other. "And as for a tie breaker," she continued. "You two were stupid to bet a date. Go do your paperwork before I make you." Riza glared at everyone. They all began furiously working.

Roy smirked as he lazily signed a paper. "You're just too good at this, Hawkeye," he chuckled.

"Get back to work, sir." Her cold glare was enough to get him to work faster.

x.x.x.x.

"_WHAT_? THEY'VE DISAPPEARED? Wait… who are you?" Winry Rockbell, the childhood friend of Edward and Alphonse Elric stood right next to the phone; its cord was twirled around her fingers. But due to the shock, the cord almost got unplugged.

She had just been in the middle of eating lunch when she got the call. Winry picked up the phone, hopeful that it was Ed wishing her a Merry Christmas. But actually, it was quite the opposite. It was a phone call telling her about the disappearance of Ed and Al.

"…_Colonel_ Mustang? You're voice sounds a bit high pitched than the last time I heard your voice. Are you ok?" Winry asked.

"_Yeah… uh… I've been kind of sick lately. Haha, you know how it is. Snow and all. The flame alchemist and getting wet and useless… hahaha!"_

"Uh, right. Thanks for telling me that…"

"_You should come down to Central. I know a great place to talk…" _His voice had become serious now.

"Where?"

There was a shove and a few complaints in the background. Then, Winry was given the location. "Oh yeah, and Merry Christmas. I'm sure Ed and Al would have wanted to say that to you."

Winry's eyes opened wide. They began to get teary as she smiled. "Yeah, you too."

She wiped the tears away. It was about time.

x.x.x.x.

General Grumman, was a man of harem, ever for his old age. There was even a certain couple he was determined to get together. Seeing that it was 3 days until Christmas day, he was even more determined to at least get them to go on a date. So of course, he would do all he could in his power to make that happen. Even… if he would be hated for it.

He placed the king right next to the queen with multiple pawns all over the chess board. The white ones were mostly fallen. Grumman clapped his hands together and chuckled.

"Sir," a younger soldier started. "Are you talking to yourself again?"

"What? Of course not! Bring Mustang over here for me. I have a chess game I'd like to play."

"Yes sir."

Grumman reorganized the chess board again.

x.x.x.x.

"So…" Roy moved his knight. "What is this for."

"As you know…" Grumman moved his pawn. "It is December 22nd, 3 days until Christmas."

"Yeah?" Roy attacked his pawn.

"Are you going to do anything about Ed and Al?" He moved another pawn.

"I've been doing all that I can but the killer isn't leaving any hints."

"I see… Tragic how it's so hard for you. But I recommend looking through the cases again. You might find something."

Roy narrowed his eyes as he moved another chess piece. "You know something don't you."

Grumman moved his queen and smirked. "I believe this is a check mate."

"Damn," Roy grunted. "You're good."

**XXXX**

**OwlCookies: trolololol I had to put tht chess game there :P**

**Dum dummm! What happened to winry and who was **_**actually**_** calling her? heheheh**


	9. 2 Turtle Doves

**OwlCookies: I seriously cant believe theres 2 more days until Christmas O_O for me it still feels like the beginning of the school year ._."**

**XXXX**

_2 Turtle Doves…_

"What do you mean I was supposed to meet Winry Rockbell at the café?" Roy asked into the phone, dumbfounded. "I don't even remember calling her."

"_Well, sir, maybe you've gotten short term memory loss," _The high pitched voice on the other end of the phone suggested.

"Who are you anyway?" Roy asked suspiciously.

"_I… I'm your worst nightmare. MWAHAHAHA!" _

"…Seriously…"

There was a shove, a few grunts, and shouts on the other end. _"Uhm… I'm… the café… manager…"_ A new voice was on the phone.

Roy hung up the phone roughly. "Screw you!" he shouted. "Stupid kids, prank calling me."

"Sir, you're going to break the phone one of these days," Riza sighed.

He sat back in his chair. "I'm going fishing." Roy stood up, grabbed his ignition gloves, and walked out, stealing a glance from Riza.

"Good luck catching any signs of fish, sir," she called after him. _Please don't tell me he's seriously going fishing…_ Riza thought to herself with a sense of dread.

x.x.x.x.

Roy went to the bathroom, and sat down on the toilet seat with a pen and paper in hand. _So far, the names written in blood where…_

"Ed… Al… Hoenheim… Winry… Brosh… Ross… and Grumman…" Roy chewed on the edge of his pen. "None of the names correspond with each other perfectly. They can go in groups but they can't go together. Ed, Al, Hoenheim, and Winry. Brosh, Ross, and Grumman. But they can't correspond together…" he murmured to himself. "But Grumman and Hawkeye know something… They're trying to tell me something but they're keeping quiet for some reason…"

The random fallen victims… Bloodied beyond imagine. It was so messed up the bodies were barely identifiable. Roy kicked the stall door open and walked out in a rage. _I'm not getting anywhere!_

"Hey! Roy!"

Roy stopped walking and looked to Grumman. He saluted. "Hello Grumman, sir."

"No need to be so formal! So, you found out the killer yet?"

"No."

Grumman patted his back. "You'll get him. I'm sure of it."

Roy studied Grumman. "You know something. So does Hawkeye. But you're not telling me." He gaze narrowed. "What are you two planning?"

Grumman walked away waving him off. "Don't know what you're talkin' about!"

"DON'T IGNORE ME!" Roy shouted after him.

"Do I hear the wind?" Grumman continued walking on, leaving Roy angrily behind.

**XXXX**

**OwlCookies: sorry~ I had to keep that short. The biggest chapters are probably going to be Christmas' :3 im not sure if tomorrow's is gunna be any big… but its gunna be epicer than it had :P**


	10. 1 Last Time

**OwlCookies: merry-happy-jolly-christmas eve! :D sorta?**

**XXXX**

_1 Last Day_

"_MUSTANG! GET YOUR BUTT OVER HERE AND SAVE US!" _Ed shouted into the phone. _"THERE'S ONE MORE FRICKIN DAY UNTIL AL AND I DIE! GET YOUR POMPOUS LAZY ASS OVER HERE! Oh yeah, and Happy-Merry Christmas Eve," _Ed snorted.

"What? Ed? Where are you?" Roy asked.

"_Well obviously I'm not allowed to tell you that."_

"Why do you sound so casual?" His suspicions were arising.

There were some background noises. _"Hey, yeah. OUCH HEY! Yeah, I have to go now. Bye. SAVE US."_

Beeping was now heard on the other end. "I don't believe my ears…" he murmured to himself.

"What is it chief?" Falman asked.

"Ed called. He was talking to me… casually…" Roy replied dumbfounded. He narrowed his eyes. "Fuery, can you trace the call?"

Fuery saluted. "Will do, sir!" He scurried over and began working on it.

"So… what if they happen to be calling from some phone booth?" Fuery asked.

"We'll still have a lead, asking civilians around there if they saw Ed and Al." Roy smirked. Now he was getting somewhere. Hopefully, this would lead him somewhere.

"Sir…" Fuery sighed. "Where ever this call was from, they did a good job making it untraceable."

"What?" Roy spat. "Damn it," he growled. "I thought we were on to something."

"Sir, you are," Riza told him simply, nodding toward the phone.

Roy picked up the receiver. There was a small slip of paper attached to it. Roy looked up at Riza curiously. Her face showed no sign of answering. He unrolled the paper and read it in his head.

_That was a recorded message. Did you know that? You're stupid. Really stupid. Can't you get a hint? Damn it, Mustang, we've been giving you obvious hints._

_-E.E._

_P.S. You failed. Worse than my old man did._

Great. So now Ed was trying to tell him something by calling him stupid. Does that mean Ed was part of the killings? Is that why he was acting so weird when Roy talked to him about it a few days ago? There was something he wasn't getting. And damn it, Roy was _not_ stupid!

"ARG!" he shouted randomly, standing up. "I KNOW WHO THE KILLER IS."

Riza had a small smile on her face. "About time, sir."

x.x.x.x.

"Wait…" Winry murmured. "So… WAIT. YOU GUYS DIDN'T ACTUALLY DISAPPEAR?" she gasped.

Ed cleaned his ear with his pinky. "I wouldn't exactly say that."

Winry, Hoenheim, Ed, and Al sat around a round table, talking. They were in a poorly lit room. Every single movement they made, the lightbulb above them would sway. Ed, still hating his father, would not sit next to him. So feeling abandoned, Hoenheim leaned against the wall, not being part of the conversation.

"We've still been gotten rudely kidnapped," Al sighed. He glared at the nearby door, wishing his kidnapper would let them out.

"And we're not being let out," Ed added. "Well, not until he lets us, of course."

"When do you think that would be?" Winry asked. "Because apparently, I'm part of this too."

"According to him, he's going to get a few more people. Then tomorrow he swears Mustang will figure it out. Then everything will go from there, falling into place. But of course, only if Mustang cooperates. He probably will, that wimp-of-a-superior," Ed snorted.

"Why does this revolve around him?" Hoenheim asked after a moment of silence.

"Cuz," Ed replied rudely. "He's got some plans for the bastard. And damn, he's got a made up mind."

Al nodded in agreement. "He's been planning this for some time."

"And why would he tell you this?" Winry asked suspiciously. "It's not like a murderer would tell you all his plans. You'd probably just end up stopping it before it happens. Right?"

Ed's ears perked up. "You mean… you don't know who it is?"

Winry shook her head. "Who is it? Is he really bad? Do I know him?" She gasped and went into some dramatic phase. "Is he going to kill us afterward?"

Ed hummed and narrowed his eyes. "He'll be back. You'll know who he is."

"I can't take the pressure! Tell me who he is!" Winry exclaimed.

"He's…"

x.x.x.x.

Roy marched through the hallway in a rage. Riza was behind him, trying to calm the man down. "Sir," she threatened. "It's not that big of a deal."

"Not that big of a deal?" Roy asked, scowling. "That bastard had the guts to go through all this killing!"

"No. Wait. Sir…! Sir you don't understand! Stop! For once, listen to me," Riza hissed.

Roy spun around to meet Riza's cold hard glare. "What?"

"You don't know what he's been doing. He has a sick, twisted, and absolutely _wrong_ mind. Don't go up to him like this. He knows what he's doing," Riza told him calmly.

Roy sighed. "Alright. I'll trust you. But how do you know all of this?"

Riza smiled. "It's simple sir. Just like Ed said, there have been clues everywhere. And knowing him, everything falls into place."

"I'm so stupid," he growled to himself.

"No offense sir," Riza said softly, yet smirking at the same time. "But you're speaking truth right there."

**XXXX**

**OwlCookies: honestly, I was disappointed in this chapter. I think it was just to revealing and dumb. But one of part was funny/punny. Heheh**

**COOKIES TO ANYONE WHO CAN FIGURE OUT WHO THE MURDERER IS! COOKIES I SAY!**


	11. Christmas Day

**OwlCookies: *claps* congrats to … **_**Anon**_**, **_**chicken didn't cross da road**_**, and Drawingaddict0227! Why? Cuz they got the answer right! *round of applause* oh yeah. The cookies. *holds up a bowl of cookies* pick whatever u want! Cookies to these three! Now if u wanna kno who it actually is, go look at their reviews or continue on!**

**Merry Christmas everyone! :3**

**XXXX**

_Christmas Day_

_Previously:_

_"Not that big of a deal?" Roy asked, scowling. "That bastard had the guts to go through all this killing!"_

_"No. Wait. Sir…! Sir you don't understand! Stop! For once, listen to me," Riza hissed._

_Roy spun around to meet Riza's cold hard glare. "What?"_

_"You don't know what he's been doing. He has a sick, twisted, and absolutely __wrong__ mind. Don't go up to him like this. He knows what he's doing," Riza told him calmly._

_Roy sighed. "Alright. I'll trust you. But how do you know all of this?"_

_Riza smiled. "It's simple sir. Just like Ed said, there have been clues everywhere. And knowing him, everything falls into place."_

_"I'm so stupid," he growled to himself._

_"No offense sir," Riza said softly, yet smirking at the same time. "But you're speaking truth right there."_

x.x.x.x.

Roy stormed into Grumman's office. He glared at the older man, his hands twitching to get around his throat in a long angry strangle attempt. To make matters worse, Grumman sat as his desk, looking innocent as he smiled.

"Why the hell did you kill all those people?" Roy spat.

Grumman's smile turned twisted as he the light reflected off his glasses revealed his eyes. His smile turned into something between a smirk… and an evil smile. "I didn't _kill_ anyone," he told the younger soldier. "I simply mass murdered a bunch of bodies with the help of some of _your _subordinates and their friends."

"What? You got Ed to kill people? What kind of sick person are you?" His glare was clearly full of anger. "What are you thinking and where are Ed and Al?"

"Patience is virtue, Roy," Grumman teased with his demented smile. "I'll explain everything in due time. But let me get this straight." His smile diminished and turned into a look of more seriousness. "I didn't kill anyone. Those bodies you saw were all fake. Those dummies were created by the Elric brothers. All I did was dump a bunch of old donor blood on them and cut around with the bodies. And also, if you may have noted, the only human name released from the murders was John Wills. He, in fact, _did_ die. But it was not the fault of mine. John Wills was killed by another murderer in the area who took advantage of the East's present situation to kill his brother."

"You've got a sick and demented mind!" Roy exclaimed, pointing at Grumman in a rage. "Why would you put us all through that?"

Grumman's twisted smile returned. "Simply because this old man still has harems for his granddaughter and her superior."

"YOU'RE A SICK MAN!" Roy shouted, blushing. "S-So, all of this was to get Hawkeye and I together?"

"Not exactly."

Roy's blush disappeared. He looked curiously at the older man. "What do you mean?"

Grumman wagged his finger. "As you know, Hawkeye figured out about this as well. Although, I _did_ have my bets on you. I guess I lost. I can't believe a woman figured out something before _you_ did. I had high expectations, Roy."

"I don't understand-"

"You know damn well what I mean! This was all an act put together for you to figure out. If it were you to have solved this case and brought up all the pure evidence to me, you would have been promoted on the spot. This was all a test of intelligence and decided what was best which you obviously could not do. I was even planning something…" Grumman murmured. Disappointment was an obvious fact on his face.

"If you don't mind me asking, but how is Hawkeye related in all of this?" Roy asked.

"It's what involves with _after_ _you_ solved it. Which you didn't. So screw you."

"Wait. So you're saying that if I solved this case before anyone else, I would get a promotion and afterward you were planning some get together for Hawkeye and me?"

"Yes. It was even season. I had Edward help me plan. He was looking forward to it as well."

"It's a Christmas party… isn't it…?" It was more of a statement than a question.

Grumman nodded. "You've failed me, Mustang." He pointed to the door. "Leave as I glare at you in shame."

Roy slammed his hand down on Grumman's desk. He glared at the older man for a moment then left.

"I'm on to you, Grumman," Roy growled.

As soon as he heard the door slam, Grumman began chuckling. "Whoops. Did I give too much of a hint? At least he figured _that_ out."

x.x.x.x.

"Sir?" Riza asked as Roy stormed out of Grumman's office.

Roy kept his gaze firmly in front of him without a glance at Riza. "Meet me tonight at Grumman's. We have things to discuss."

Riza looked at him quizzically but nodded and saluted. "Yes, sir."

Roy looked back at her and smirked. "Wear something nice."

"Don't tell me we're going on a date because…" Roy silenced her.

"Don't worry, Hawkeye. It won't be as bad as you think."

x.x.x.x.

"Hey, Mustang! Long time no see!" Ed gave Roy a toothy grin as he waved to the man at the door.

"Hello!" Winry and Al exclaimed together.

Roy looked surprised. "Ed? Al? Even Ms. Winry. Ahh, the gang's all here."

"Sorry for ditching, Colonel Mustang, sir!" Ross and Brosh stood side by side, blushing with embarrassment. "Please don't demote us. We were doing what General Grumman asked.

Roy nodded to them. "It's ok."

Riza stood next to him with a small but warm smile on her face.

"Oh yeah," Ed called to Roy. "Look up."

Simultaneously, Roy and Riza looked up. A blush came across their faces as they saw the mistletoe above them. Grumman walked up to them, a big smirk on his face.

"Take this as a present from me to you. You can have my granddaughter this Christmas-" He was about to continue but stopped as he saw Roy's embarrassed glare. Grumman began laughing. "Enjoy your present, Roy-boy!"

"Don't call me that!" Roy shouted angrily. He looked away, an embarrassed blush growing redder. "Well, Hawkeye. I didn't think we'd get caught under the mistletoe."

Ed groaned. "HURRY UP AND KISS EACH OTHER! WINRY AND I ALREADY HAD TOO!" He blushed and looked away as soon as he said that last sentence.

"Well if the runt-"

"WHO'RE YOU CALLING SHORT YOU OVERSIZED HORSE!" Ed shouted. (hint hint: mustang is a type of horse)

"-did it, I guess we have too," Roy murmured to Riza, ignoring Ed.

Riza rolled her eyes. "Hurry up and kiss me."

Smirking, Roy leaned down and kissed Riza full on the lips. When they broke apart, the smirk was still on his face.

"Satisfied?" he asked.

Riza looked at him mischievously. "No. You're going to have to try better."

Roy cupper his hands around her face and kissed her again. "I'll keep kissing you in front of them until you say yes."

"I'll think about it," she retorted as he kissed her again.

The whistles and cheers in the background were drowned out.

"Merry Christmas, Hawkeye," Roy said, kissing her again.

"Merry Christmas, sir. You can stop now." Riza chuckled as he tried kissing her again.

"What was that? I didn't catch that." He held her in his arms in a way that made Riza lose balance. Roy caught her and smirked. "Your hero needs a kiss."

"My hero can get more kisses later," Riza teased.

"That's sick…" Ed grumbled.

Grumman patted his back. "It's all part of being an adult, Ed! I remember when I was your age… my girlfriend…" he trailed off as Ed walked far away from him trying not to puke.

"Uhm… Mister Mustang… Miss Riza…Sorry to interrupt your _moment_, but can we please get on with the party?" Al asked innocently, trying not to show his disgusted face.

Roy and Riza skipped the blushing and nodded.

For the rest of the night, everyone there celebrated Christmas, opening presents, exchanging presents, and just having a great time.

"Hey, Brosh, is your arm ok?" Roy asked.

Brosh saluted, smiling. "Yes sir! That actually wasn't blood. It was a large packet of ketchup."

Finally, the time came when it was getting late and it was time to head home.

Grumman gave Roy a hard slap on the back. "Didn't know you have the balls to do that in front of me."

Roy smirked. "You told me she was mine tonight."

Riza rolled her eyes. "Don't go deciding who I belong too. I belong to myelf."

Roy put his arm around her neck. "No, you're mine."

Again, Riza rolled her eyes.

x.x.x.x.

"I can't believe Mustang had the balls to do that in front of Grumman," Ed exclaimed, shuddering.

"I think it's sweet, brother," Al said, grinning.

"But if you think hard, for Mister Mustang to do that in front of Miss Riza's grandfather…" Winry murmured. "That's not…right…"

Al put his arms around Ed and Al. "Which is why, you two should get together. If Mister Mustang and Miss Riza can do it, so can you."

Together, Ed and Winry socked Al on the head. "Don't get started on us," they growled in unison.

Al chuckled despite the two large bumps growing and turning red on his head.

Roy, somehow, reared up behind Ed.

"Hey, shrimp!" Roy gave Ed a hard slap on the back.

Ed's antennae twitched in irritation. "Whadya want?"

"Were you two in on this… the whole time?"

"No," Ed replied. "We didn't know until he kidnapped us. But course, we had to be kidnapped separately so we'd arouse suspicion."

"Don't you mean that you _wouldn't_ arouse suspicion?"

"Nope. Making things suspicious was the point."

"Oh yeah, and how did you manage such a high pitched scream after that one murder? You know, after I chased you away and tried burning you." Roy smirked.

"What are you talking about?" Ed asked.

"Don't joke around, Edward. I'm serious, this wasn't a funny time."

"Yeah, and I'm telling you, I never did any of that," Ed replied, still feeling irritated at being called short. Roy stopped walking. "Ok then. Later."

"WAIT! NO! ED!" Roy shouted in horror.

There was the screams of 2 children. Blood was splattered that night. This time, it wasn't a joke.

**XXXX**

**OwlCookies: *bows unnecessarily* sorry! I had to add that! Im sorry… gomen nasai! Since today is Christmas, im not going to continue this, yknow. Im not going to… you cant make me… sorry to say… **

**Oh yeah, and something I started in "Little Mine"**

**THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING FOR REVIEWING :3**

**Mee to lazy to sign in (which I assume is iheartfullmetal)**

**Katsumi Hatake**

**yomoe13**

**awesomenaruto**

**Aaaand the Joker does ballet (which is ALSO partner IN crime XD)**

**CandyThief**

**partner IN crime XD (I had to add her again… she went by a different name…)**

**AvaEobane**

**chicken didnt cross da road**

**and… Drawingaddict0227**

**thanks guys :3**


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